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Scouting & Video: Carlton Brundidge vs. Clarkston

I’m going to come right out and say it: I like the way Carlton Brundidge plays. He’s big, physical and fearless. His handle is nice enough to provide the Blue Jays with a one-man press break, which you could tell from the video. His shot is smooth enough for him to hit not one but two buzzer-beating 3-pointers (one at the end of the first half and one at the end of the third quarter). He loves banging in the paint and he grabs rebounds like Manny (despite his shorter stature). There’s a lot to like about his game.
If I had any complaints, I guess I would say he needs to just go up with the ball in the post instead of trying to double-clutch all the time. That said, he had one particularly nice up-and-under that was good for an and-1 late in the game.

Brundidge had to work for everything he got on Friday night. He had trouble getting open and when he drove to the basket he was met with a bunch of big bodies crowding up the lane. Apparently, the last time these two teams played, Brundidge went for 20. It was obvious that Clarkston coach Dan Fife was keying his defense toward stopping him especially, making the rest of the team beat him.

Although Clarkston held Brundidge to just three points in the first half, Southfield held a big lead at the half. Brundidge came back in the second and finished with 19 on the game.

His team was struggling late in this game but he wouldn’t let them give it away. He made plays when his team needed him to and I think he made every free throw he took. In the end, Southfield came away with their first victory over Clarkston since the early 90s and a leg up in their conference title race.

In this instance, I think Brundidge played better than the film above indicates. In my opinion, this is a guy any team would love to have.

I saw in the writeup from Big Ten Geeks that Saturday’s game was 55 possessions. That’s pretty slow, slower than I’d expect from these two teams. And that’s when I realized something. Its not that Michigan plays as slow as Wisconsin, its that they give up so many offensive rebounds that other teams get really really long possessions. For example, when PSU had the ball with 1:35 left, Michigan fouled Taylor Battle on the floor to keep him from hitting an open layup with 2 seconds on the shot clock. Then they hit a shot at the next shot clock buzzer, making it a 2 possession game after killing 70 of the 95 seconds left in the game.

As for Brundidge, man it would have been cool to see him and Manny at the same time.

http://www.umhoops.com Dylan

The song is Drop the World by Lil Wayne and Eminem.

Tweeter

Brundidge reminds me a lot of Kalin Lucas. He is a little more put together than Kalin was at that age, but the way he pushes the ball and attacks the basket reminds me of Kalin in highschool.

I didnt realize that Brundidge relied on his outside shot as much as it appeared in this video. Maybe relied is the wrong word, but it just appeared like he took a lot more threes than I expected. On a couple plays he made a nice head fake and took a step back jumper instead of driving. That surprised me. To those that have seen him multiple times, if any, what is his tendency on shooting v. driving? From everything that I had read he was a drive first guard.

Sam

Here was my take on the same game that Calvin attended (be wary, I counted 22 points, my friends counted 20, and Calvin counted 19):

So me and a couple friends made the short trip to Southfield to take in the Clarkston @ Southfield matchup and to see the future of Michigan’s team, Carlton Brundidge, play. Going in, I knew that both teams were supposed to be pretty good. I didn’t know, however, that this game would basically decide the league championship and that Clarkston had previously beat Southfield by 7 points this year. So I got more than I bargained for right off the bat. In warmups, not much happened, but I liked the way Brundidge’s shot looked. I had heard before that shooting was one of his downfalls, but he showed nice form and very good rotation. The release is quite slow though and could be worked on.

The first half was completely dominated by Southfield, leading by around 17 at halftime. Clarkston’s star player, Matt Kamieniecki (sp?), former Michigan target and Ball State commit, came out strong, but quickly picked up two fouls, leaving him to stare hopelessly from the bench for the remainder of the half. The two die-hard Clarkston fans right in front of us repeatedly mentioned that Clarkston’s head coach (Dan Fife, who apparently played at Michigan and is the father of Duggan), has never played a player with two fouls in the first half and they continuously voiced their displeasure with his decision, especially in such a big game.

Despite Southfield’s dominant half, or maybe because of, Brundidge was extremely quiet, going 1-6 from the field, making only a three pointer at the buzzer while rimming a couple mid-rangers out and missing one layup among the trees. He also had three rebounds, one assist, and a steal off a deflected pass. He showed great patience and didn’t force anything, which impressed me. He had a nice drive that turned into a pull-up when it was clear that he would not make it to the hoop. He couldn’t put anything in, but he showed that he didn’t care about his own stats more than the team’s success. It should be noted right away that Southfield actually does not run an offense. It consists of one guy bringing the ball up and trying to get past his man. If that fails, he will attempt to find an open man, but Brundidge’s man was consistently trying to deny him the ball and Brundidge did not handle the ball much. The four guys that were off the ball seemed to be told to stand like statues, because no one moved at all, and the coach didn’t seem to be displeased with it. I literally did not see one screen set by Southfield the whole game that was not called an illegal screen.

The second half was apparently what everyone else came to see. Clarkston came out and started to make some shots and continued to chip away at Southfield’s lead. Southfield looked content to hold the ball at times and try to waste clock time. Eventually, Clarkston started to pressure the ball to try to get back into the game. By the end of the third quarter, I believe Clarkston was within single digits and was starting to gain some momentum. This is about the time that Brundidge started to show what he was made of. He brought the ball up court much more often in the second half and only recorded one turnover the whole game, according to my count, in which he actually made a very nice pass in the air while going up for a layup that the big man just wasn’t expecting and couldn’t handle. It would have been a nice assist if the guy wasn’t Zack Gibson. Throughout the second half, Brundidge started to show his killer slashing abilities, routinely splitting double teams to get to the hole while also showing a very nice stroke. The most impressive play of the game from Brundidge was on a 1-on-2 fast break in which he sped past a couple defenders in the open court around halfcourt, looked around to see if anyone was open, saw that he was alone, found three point line, stepped out and to his left, and splashed the three. He also made a very nice up-and-under and-one layup, finishing for a three point play. He posted a final stat line of 22 points on 6-11 shooting (3-4 3pt., 7-7 FT), seven rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one turnover. Clarkston continued to push in the second half, and ended up getting within 5 midway through the fourth quarter, but just could not stop Brundidge. “CB” made at least three shots that were daggers to Clarkston’s chances of a comeback and repeatedly broke presses with no help from his teammates to keep the game out of reach. In the last few minutes of the game, one of his single-handed press breaks really stood out in my mind. He got the inbounds pass close to the corner, looked to see if he had any help, quickly noticed that all of his teammates were past halfcourt, and simply split four Clarkston players before making it past halfcourt and pulling it out to run the clock a little more. He also made all seven of his free throws, getting nothing but net the majority of the time. Southfield ended up winning the game by three points, but that score is a little deceptive, as Kamieniecki made two threes within the final 15 seconds or so to make the score look a little closer.

The one part of Brundidge’s game that was lacking somewhat was defense. He didn’t play bad defense per se, he simply didn’t show a whole lot of effort on that side of the floor. Southfield almost exclusively played the 2-3 zone, and Brundidge was consistently matched up on Kamieniecki in the post for some reason. I can say with confidence, however, that Southfield would not have weathered the storm without Brundidge on the court for the whole second half. Southfield had some good talent, but as I mentioned before, there was simply no offensive system whatsoever. It should be noted that Brundidge was wincing a fair amount in the second half, appearing to hold his back. He also took a much-disputed charge in the first half from Kamieniecki.

If I had to compare Brundidge to someone on the current Michigan team, I would say Laval Lucas-Perry, but version 2.0. Brundidge appears to be a bit chunky and could stand to tone his body a bit, but showed great quickness despite this thickness. I also question the 6′2 that he was listed at in the roster guide. I think 6′0 flat would be fairly accurate, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was only 5′11. In comparison to LLP, Brundidge seems to have good handles, can get to the rack, and is a solid shooter. He probably is a little better at the first two of these attributes than LLP already, and he will certainly be able to improve his release speed a little bit.

Overall, I was very impressed with Brundidge’s game and am happy to know that he is already in the fold. On a side note, Clarkston’s token African American was almost the exact mold of Ekpe Udoh, who used to be my favorite Michigan player. He had extremely long arms, almost all the way down to his knees and also looked quite similar to him, but was a bit shorter, listed at 6′6 and is probably not a high-major prospect by any means.

http://www.umhoops.com Dylan

Thanks for putting this in here Sam, kind of got buried before.

Papers had 20 points, lets just say 19-22 :-)

Tom_McC

For my perspective, it looks like Brundidge has a real polish to his game. I love how he uses a shot fake on almost every move he makes and he is so calm with the ball when he penetrates. He never looks out of control. The shot fake thing is big because when you combine his strength, speed and ability to shoot, it makes closing out on him a real chore for defenses. Some guys rely too much on quickness and not enough on deception to penetrate(hello UM Guards!) in the paint. If a player has quickness and the ability to get in the paint and the smarts to use ball/shot fakes to assist with their quickness they become a real threat and put so much pressure on the defense.

Certainly, he’ll need to continue to develop his quickness and his perimeter shot but he has some really nice tools ad you can tell he knows how to play the game. The only real problem I see with Carlton is he won’t be on campus for another year.

Cb2009

Can somebody post a link to the YouTube video… Embedded video doesn’t work on itouch

Regarding the DetNews article, he’s clearly just listing the best post players, he’s not handicapping the race. This is absolutely no slight to Brundidge or Kearney.

http://www.umhoops.com Dylan

Maybe. I read it again and it seems like that. But he mentions Brundidge as the only other “top 100 player” and fails to acknowledge Kearney is a couple slots away from him in Rivals’ rankings. I took the blurb out though.

Tom_McC

I don’t like the LLP comparison’s. Carlton has considerably more polish to his game and seems to have a natural PG feel to his game.

I’m not a big comparison guy to begin with but if there is a player that is going to remind of Rumeal Robinson, Carlton fits the bill, IMO. Rumeal was certainly more explosive but I think the comparison makes sense.

I’m not going to go Tim McCormick on you all and say CB will be the best PG at UM since Rumeal, but I do think they have similar styles of play. Both physical, can shoot it and are tough as nails. Rumeal had the advantage athletically, while it seems CB might be a little more polished.

Let me finish by saying, these are just general comparisons and more points of reference than what I actually expect.

Brad

good call in Khalid el-Amin. I also see a lot of Sherron Collins in him…definitely excited to have him on board

http://www.umhoops.com Dylan

I don’t see Laval Lucas-Perry in Brundidge’s game either. Never seen Laval take the ball to the hole like that. CB has a better handle IMO as well.

Bluebufoon

Great post by everyone– I see a little of both Khalid el-Amin and Rumeal. I know I’m not supposed too but I’m concerned about Brundidge’s weight, looks like that is something everyone is going to have too keep their eyes on. Glad Brundidge is Blue !!!

Now if we can get a few more just like him.

JB

based on the clips, I think he has great court vision and awareness (and therefore is a good passer), he can hit shots that are on the move and contested (as demonstrated by at least one of his buzzer beaters), he’s a very good ball-handler, and has a good team concept…i don’t think he relies too much on his outside shot. keep in mind that two of those threes were jacked up at the buzzer.
i also disagree with the llp comparison. they have different games and i think brundidge will be a much better player, nothing against llp.

ZRL

I like the Collins comparison. Both are around 6’1″ and very, very strong for a PG. Of course if Carlton develops into even half of the PG Sherrod is I’ll be happy.

Sam

OK, let me rephrase what I said. I guess I was basing my comparison to LLP a bit too much on body type, both a little hefty for their size I guess, maybe a little baby fat to work off. LLP has also shown flashes of being able to drive to the whole, and I think Brundidge can do this, but at a much, much better rate and be a much better finisher. When LLP is on, he can also shoot, and Brundidge appears to be able to do the same.

I do, however like the Sherron Collins comaparison, but unfortunately I was never old enough to really analyze Rumeal Robinson’s game, but from the little I’ve seen, I guess I can see where you are coming from. But right now, you could call Brundidge a poor man’s Sherron Collins, I’m just not sure he has the mid-range game that I admire Collins so much for yet. Other than that though, bigger frame, great driver, good passer, plays bigger than his size, etc. I also forgot to mention that Brundidge seems extremely comfortable banging with bigger bodies down low and will often come away with the rebound off a good box-out.

JB

Sam – i also should have said, great write up on carleton. i enjoyed the whole thing.

GrandChamp

Great site guys, I’m glad that I finally stumbled upon it after just checking espn rivals and scout everyday. Go Blue!!

Thanks a lot JB. I’ll keep everyone posted as I go and see more games. It might be done for this year, but I hope to get out frequently next year.

Paul

Why did we offer to a 6′ ballhog?

Will

There is no concern with CB’s weight. He wears a flak vest under his jersey. As previously noted he is a driver, and likes to mix it up in the paint, so he takes alot of abuse. He had a very nasty fall earlier in the year, and hurt his back, so he switched vest, and the one he wears now has thicker padding for better protection. CB is in the gym everyday at 6AM. Weight is the least of his concerns.